Rusty Tools

[duh]

I accidently left my pruning shears out all winter buried under a mountain of leaves.  Now they are rusty.  I was told to use steel wool to clean them.  So far it is a very slow process.  Is there a quicker way?

[Tina]

Line a pan of some sort (I use a dish pan)  with aluminum foil. Pour in water to an inch or so to cover your tool. Add a couple table spoons of baking soda and stir to dissolve. Drop your shears in there and soak. When the rust is removed dry thoroughly and lubricate. I like wd-40 for this.
With the aluminum and soda you are creating a chemical reaction, electrolysis. Do this outside because there are fumes involved.
You can also soak your tarnished silverware or that silver belt buckle you won at the rodeo (safely) like this. The remains are not environmentally harmful.

[Jim]

Outstanding tip Tina.   WD-40 is awesome to coat your tools after you are finished using them, so they don't develop rust while being stored.

[Triss]

That is way cool Tina.  I will have to try that with my tools.

[duh]

Thanks Tina I'm definitely going to do that.

[duh]

I tried the baking soda and aluminum on my pruning shears and they are back to normal.  And now they are lubricated with wd40. 

[Tina]

Cool, I am glad it helped.

[SwampPeople]

Really like this tip. Geez, if I keep reading the forum, I'm gonna need some help around here...or I could just add all these helpful tips to the HoneyDo List, huh?

[duh]

lol, you can try.